


After the Afterparty

by ablaze



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-25 00:21:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9794141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ablaze/pseuds/ablaze
Summary: Evie sighs dramatically and places a hand on her chest, adopting the voice that she used to think would get her her happily ever after, before dreams of green eyes and purple hair and lips that most definitely weren’t Chad’s, and says breathlessly, “He’s grand, Mal, so strong and handsome and in love with you.” She drops her hand and cocks a brow, “Happy?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> (Jenny Slate voice) Yo yo yo yo yo yo yo. So I found out (way late?) that Descendants 2 is going to be a thing and it just reminded me of how sadly scarce fic is for these two. Here is my offering
> 
> I beg for comments.

 

Evie pinches her eyes shut, presses the bottle to her lips, and tips it back. She coughs when the liquid hits her throat. Her eyes burn and she sputters, but if it can give her a few minutes of mindless peace, she doesn’t really mind.

 

She likes Auradon and she’s glad she’s here, but she sort of misses the island. She’d been a princess there, a _legitimate_ one (thank you very much, Audrey), and people had liked her. Or they had at least liked the opportunity she presented and honestly Evie didn’t care whichever way. She’d had their attention and that’s all that mattered.

 

The island wasn’t so bad when its hundreds of squabbling, scrabbling inhabitants were squabbling and scrabbling for you. She misses it. And though, yes, okay, she may have taken it for granted, she also misses her friends’ attention. They may still be together but she’s never had to deal with _competitors_ before–girls who vie for Jay’s roguish charm and classmates who take to Carlos’ wit and boys who dash themselves against Mal’s icy mask. It’s Mal that she misses the most. Ben had made her realize that.

 

This time the drink doesn’t burn so much.

 

The door swings open and she looks up. Mal’s paused in the doorway, gaze flickering over Evie. She notes that her eyes still glitter in the dark of the hall and fleetingly wonders if the Auradon kids care about Mal’s Fae heritage. She suddenly hopes they do, that maybe it’ll scare Ben off.

 

Mal shuts the door behind her and leans against it, her head tilting to the side and her purple hair tickling her shoulder. She’s cool and casual and Evie tosses her hair away from her face and tries her best to be just as unaffected. She pulls the bottle up to take another swallow. Mal’s eyebrow cocks in a show of controlled surprise but she doesn’t say anything. Evie knew she wouldn’t. Mal thinks questions, like most things, are just another chance at a power play.

 

Evie lowers the bottle and traces away the moisture on her bottom lip with a finger. When green eyes drag down she slides her finger into her mouth and sucks, and when green eyes narrow and flick back up she smiles innocently. Her mother had taught her how to smile maybe before she could walk, and then she had taught herself better. It softens everything but her eyes and Mal watches them shine dark while she drawls, “I’m surprised you managed to find that here.”

 

Evie shrugs. “Teenagers are teenagers everywhere.”

 

Mal lets out a short hum.

 

They stare at each other for a moment, Evie’s smile turning sharp as she wills Mal to say something else, if only to give her a platform for her bottled emotions, but Mal doesn’t. Just looks. She can probably read the tension in Evie’s shoulders.

 

Sometimes Evie wishes Mal treated her as callously as she treated everyone else.

 

Evie’s good at waiting but the alcohol makes her restless. She’s getting ready to swing her feet to the floor and stand when Mal’s face abruptly lights up with a smile. She pushes herself off of the door and Evie’s mind whispers warning; she’s seen that rapid emotional switch before, and it’s only ever accompanied by a scheme. Her suspicion grows as Mal nears. Mal’s had a lifetime of hiding intentions and her smile is sugary sweet.

 

She stops right in front of Evie before twisting to sit on the edge of the bed, right beside her, causing what little space there is between them to vanish as the mattress dips and Evie rolls into her side. She rights herself hastily. Her cheeks flush faintly as she glares at an innocently wide-eyed Mal.

 

Mal reaches for the bottle, “Friends don’t let friends drink alone.”

 

Evie breathes in as Mal leans forward and immediately regrets it, the smell of leather and Mal’s own sweet tang mixing unpleasantly (too pleasantly) with the alcohol in her bloodstream.

 

Mal settles back. Evie stares flatly. “So. You left pretty abruptly.”

 

Evie considers not answering, knows Mal won’t push it and she’s so safe and warm wrapped in her alcohol, but then she thinks about why she left. She asks, “M, what do you feel when you look at Ben?”

 

Mal pulls the bottle from her lips and wrinkles her nose as she swallows but doesn’t complain. She shows no sign of surprise at Evie’s question. “Oh, the usual, I guess. Birds chirping and fairies dancing, that sort of thing.”

 

Evie nods neutrally, says, “Oh.”

 

They’re quiet for a time. Mal occasionally takes a drink and Evie starts to mentally assess which girls in her class might offer experience.

 

“You don’t really seem to like Ben.”

 

Evie hums noncommittally, not pulling herself fully from her thoughts. If she can’t have Mal, then Mal certainly can’t have her. Even if Mal having her is just having her attention.

 

“He’s nice.”

 

Mal leans over the side of the bed to put the bottle on the floor. When she rights herself she stretches back on her elbows, legs crisscrossed and body drawn out, soft and open.

 

“You never describe anyone as just ‘nice,’” Mal scoffs and Evie turns amused eyes towards her, the alcohol making it easy to drag her eyes up slowly before meeting Mal’s probing gaze.

 

Evie sighs dramatically and places a hand on her chest, adopting the voice that she used to think would get her her happily ever after, before dreams of green eyes and purple hair and lips that most definitely weren’t Chad’s, and says breathlessly, “He’s grand, Mal, so strong and handsome and in love with you.” She drops her hand and cocks a brow, “Happy?”

 

Mal grins wolfishly and Evie doesn’t mind the way it makes her skin prickle. “Oh, Evil E has come out to play. I wasn’t sure if you’d left her back on the Island.”

 

Evie rolls her eyes. “You can’t just, like,” she waves her hand in front of her, “drop part of yourself like that.” She breathes out heavily and lets herself fall backwards onto the bed. “It doesn’t work like that.”

 

Mal doesn’t say anything, but after a moment she lowers herself down and they’re lying side by side and she can feel Mal’s body heat. Evie closes her eyes and pretends she could fall in love with a prince.

 

“So why’d you leave, E?”

 

Evie cracks an eye open and squints over at Mal. “Well, they made us get into that car and after that rock candy…there was no going back. I knew I’d found my Prince Cavity.”

 

Mal crinkles her nose and groans and Evie laughs. It was terrible but she’s tipsy and it’s Mal so it doesn’t matter. Everything is easy and normal and Mal looks so soft staring back at her, so she reaches out and brushes purple bangs back with careful fingers. Mal barely flinches, just blinks twice, fast, and Evie lets her hand linger on Mal’s cheek and stares as her thumb swipes over a smooth cheekbone. She marvels at the delicacy, breathes in and out. They’re so close.

 

She’s surprised she hasn’t moved away. She feels Mal’s jaw shift as she whispers, “That’s not what I meant.”

 

She keeps her eyes on her hand as she whispers back, “I know.”

 

She slips her fingers along a hard jawline and down to trace the lines of Mal’s neck, sliding fingers feather light to linger at the hollow between her collarbones.

 

She waits for Mal to ask again but she doesn’t. The silence stretches and she can feel the puff of Mal’s breath hitting her lips. She thinks Mal must feel hers too. When she finally looks up, green eyes are staring at her wide and deep and Evie doesn’t think she’s ever seen them so unshuttered.

 

Suddenly Mal’s hand is curling over Evie’s, pressing it still against her sternum. “Do you want to go to bed?”

 

Evie blinks and nods, almost doesn’t blush. She pulls her hand away from Mal’s.

 

She’s swaying to her feet when she feels a gentle tug at the back of her shirt. “I meant with me, E. I sleep better with you.” Mal pauses and then lifts an eyebrow. “And if you ever tell Jay or Carlos that then you’d better never sleep again.”

 

She laughs and lets Mal tug her back onto the bed. She's not sure if they're going to change, but after Mal only pulls off her boots before crawling up the bed, Evie does the same. Both of them slide towards the pillows and kick the comforter down with their feet, reach to pull it back up over themselves.

 

Evie turns to put her back to Mal and watches the curtains billow slightly in the breeze from the open window. She smiles softly as she presses her head further into the pillow.

 

She’s almost done imagining her third dress design when Mal’s voice breaks the stillness. “For the record, I left because you left.”

 

“Your mom made you leave, M.” Evie breathes out sleepily, no bite to her tone.

 

“That’s not what I’m talking about. It was lame after you left.”

 

Evie turns to face Mal. Her eyes are open and she doesn’t look near to sleep. Evie reaches out and rests her hand on Mal’s elbow, begins to rub slow lines up and down her arm. Mal looks like she’s trying too hard to be calm. “Mal,” she starts. “You know we’ve been friends for a long time, right?” When Mal doesn’t immediately respond she widens her eyes and juts her chin forward obnoxiously, “ _Right?_ ” Mal rolls her eyes and shoves her shoulder and she settles back onto her side, satisfied. “And you know that’s not going to change just because we’re here, right?”

 

Mal’s eyes are still trained on the ceiling when she huffs. “Yes, _Evie_ , I know that.”

 

Evie bites her lip to stop from smiling. “Good. So what’s up? You were having a great time with Ben when I left.” She’s careful to keep her voice light.  

 

Mal’s lips quirk and she loses some of her tension as she says, “Yeah.” It makes Evie’s heart clench briefly. “It’s just…” She trails off and Evie stares at her patiently. Mal rolls her eyes a bit self-consciously, and tries again, “It’s just, Ben’s a genuinely good person. And sometimes I don’t know what to do with that.”

 

Evie’s hand slows until she’s just rubbing her thumb in circles, back and forth across the soft skin on the inside of Mal’s forearm. “You’re a good person.”

 

Mal shrugs, “Maybe. When I want to be. And only ever when I get something out of it.” She grins and Evie drops her hand between them as she rolls onto her side so that they’re facing each other. Her bangs fall into her face and she blows them out of the way. “I’m not really sure that’s how it works.”

 

Evie laughs softly. “Well, you’re learning.”

 

A few strands of hair had fallen back over Mal’s eyes and Evie admires the clash of purple against green.

 

“You weren’t going to steal the wand,” she points out. “You chose being good over ruling a kingdom.”

 

Mal’s eyebrows draw together as she looks at her skeptically, “I got to not rule what would soon become a heinous cesspool. I think we _all_ got something out of that.”

 

Evie giggles. “You let all those girls keep their hair.”

 

Mal raises an eyebrow, “Blackmail. Have to keep my subjects in line.”

 

Evie smiles and rolls her eyes. “You know what, Mal, you’re right. You’re evil through and through.”

 

Mal’s eyes sparkle as she hums in agreement. “Long live me.”

 

Evie shakes her head and lets her eyes flutter shut. “Whatever you say.”

 

She’s almost asleep when she feels Mal curl a little closer, and she smiles.


End file.
